2/25/12

Many years ago, when I was a much younger mother, it was imperative that I stretch every dollar I had. As a single mom with two kids, I once even found myself eating popcorn for two whole weeks so the kids could have the "real food." One of my favorite memories of dollar stretching was our laundry routine when I couldn't find any quarters for the laundromat. I'd fill up the bathtub at the apartment with water and liquid detergent, throw all the clothes in, then let my barefoot kids jump up and down on the clothes. I'd drain the tub, then rinse and wring the items, carry the basket of them out to my plastic drying rack on the front porch and hang them on that. When they were dry, the stiffened clothes would go into a big plastic bag and the kids would jump up and down on the bag to soften the fabrics for me. We did laundry like that for at least a year. My daughter was in kindergarten and first at the time, so she'd ride the school bus. I had an old car with no air conditioning (yes, really, in Texas) but my son and I would ride the city bus to the university where I took classes full time and he went to a part time daycare program at a local church on a partial scholarship. After my classes, we'd ride the city bus home to meet my daughter's school bus, then we'd all climb in my car and drive to my full time job as a director of a drop-in childcare center. I'd work until 10pm during the week and 1am on the weekends, but at least I could take my kids with me to work. Once or twice I had to get paycheck advances or payday loans from a local lender, but for the most part I had to make do with what I had. Looking back now, it amazes me that I made it through all that and did it alone while going through a nasty divorce. I also know that those are the times in our lives that develop perseverance and patience. That may very well be why I have so many grey hairs too.

After chasing eight preschoolers around all day long, my feet HURT. Oftentimes I feel like I can barely make it up the stairs. Sitting in the recliner for a bit after work helps the tiredness, but I'm very happy and excited to add these Nature's Sleep Memory Foam Slippers to my evening routine. They hug, cushion and relax my feet like no other slippers I have owned.

The concept of memory foam slippers comes from Nature's Sleep Memory Foam Mattresses and Pillows, which are designed to help you revitalize and rejuvenate while you rest. Their beds cradle and comfort your entire body, just like my new slippers do for my feet. I also like that the company continuously works hard to find environmentally conscious ways to manufacture their products.

I am really impressed with the construction of Nature's Sleep Slippers. I received a pair of tan slippers in the slip-on style. I've always worn a boot style of slippers so I wasn't sure how I would feel about the slip-on type. I was reminded of the pair of clogs I wore as a teenager. I must have worn those clogs for five years before the sole finally cracked in half. The sole of these slippers is a thick flexible rubber fused with a durable fabric for non-slippage and quiet walking...a fabulous concept. The slipper fabric is stitched into the side of the sole so I know these will last a long time! Register to win a pair of slippers below.
Find more of my amazing giveaways HERE.Disclosure: I received this product at no charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Use code BEARS50 for a 50% DISCOUNT CODE at http://www.naturessleep.com to get mattresses and pillows that will help you get a great night's sleep!

Win a pair of Nature's Sleep Slippers in your size!
One lucky reader will win a pair of Nature's Sleep Slippers. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Only the first entry is mandatory, per sponsor; all other entries are to increase your chances to win. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. Enter until midnight EST until 3/9/2012. Good luck!

I've just discovered a whole new way to enjoy pretzels! Pretzel Crisps® taste like pretzels and crunch like pretzels, but are thin like a cracker - perfect for making appetizers for parties, game day, and healthy snacking. They are perfect for dipping into dressings and dips. Stacking them with cheeses and meats is easy.

I also shared the bag of Original with my eight daycare kids and they loved them too. Having healthy snacks available for them is important to me. There are 0g Trans Fat, 0g Saturated Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, and only 110 calories per serving. Each bag has about 7 servings in it, so just one or two bags with toppings or dips would be enough for a family get-together.

The bold and spicy flavors are full of flavor but I can easily see a melted queso dip going well with them. I loved all seven flavors of the Pretzel Crisps® and noticed a couple of other specialties on their website that are only available once a year - Dark Chocolate and Peppermint and White Chocolate and Peppermint. The Cinnamon Toast flavor intrigues me as well. Visit them online and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter!Find more of my awesome giveaways HERE.Disclosure: I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Win a Pretzel Crisps® Prize Pack right here on my blog!One lucky Planet Weidknecht reader will get an assorted case of 12 bags of Pretzel Crisps®, plus two Pretzel Crisps® logo reusable grocery bags, and some great coupons! To enter, fill in the Rafflecopter form below. Only the first entry is mandatory; all others are bonus entries to increase your chances to win. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. Giveaway ends on 3/9/12 at midnight EST. Good luck and happy, healthy snacking!

Cold pasta salad has never been a meal I liked. But for the sake of all my wonderful fans, I stepped out of my comfort zone for this review. I am so very happy I did! Plentiful Pantry is one of the neatest little grocery gift stores I've ever seen. They have all kinds of pasta kits, soup kits, pizza kits, dessert kits and so much more. These kits would be great gifts too. I received a Pasta Partners Chipotle Ranch Pasta Salad to try.

The kit comes with a beautiful, colorful dry pasta bag, plus a packet of chipotle seasonings and the cutest little bottle of Tabasco ever. I made a trip to the grocery store to buy the mayo, red pepper, red onion and a can of precooked chicken. I already had the milk. Anyone who knows me, knows the recipe better be easy or it's not happening in my kitchen.

I first combined the mayo and milk in a bowl, then whisked in the chipotle seasoning packet. It smelled so good and suddenly one of my teenage boys appeared in the kitchen. What a surprise. I warned him it would be at least an hour. So he fixed himself a quick snack and disappeared. I covered the sauce mix and put it in the fridge to chill for an hour.

Then I brought 4 cups of water to a boil and poured in the dry pasta. I turned the heat down a bit and cooked it for 8 minutes. I drained it in the sink and rinsed it in cold water. I poured the pasta in another bowl, covered it and put it into the fridge for an hour.

The recipe called for chopped red bell pepper. Since they don't come that way, I chopped up the pepper I bought and dumped it into a little bowl. Then I diced up the red onion into another bowl. I covered both with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge. I opened up my can of premium chunk chicken and kind of smushed it up with a fork so the pieces were bite size or smaller.

About an hour later, I pulled it all out of the fridge. In a big bowl, I tossed the pasta with the sauce, then folded in the peppers and onions. Suddenly, my teenage boys both appeared. Amazing how that happens. They watched as I stirred in the chicken. The last ingredient was the tiny little bottle of Tabasco sauce. It looked and smelled delicious.

Each of the three of us took a small bowl just to taste it. One of my boys was surprised it was cold; he expected a hot dish. He said it was "pretty good." The other teenager tasted his bowl of it and promptly filled up his bowl three more times. I personally ate two bowls of it myself. It's absolutely delicious! It is not spicy hot at all, which I expected, but has just the right southwestern kick to it.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

One lucky winner will receive their own Chipotle Ranch Pasta Salad kit from Plentiful Pantry. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter below. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. The first two entries are mandatory, per the sponsor; all other entries are bonus entries to increase your chances to win. Giveaway ends on 3/9/12 at midnight EST. Good luck!

You don't have to twist my arm to get me to review chocolate! SheSpeaks offered me a review of the brand new Ghirardelli Milk and Truffle Chocolate Squares and they are SO very delicious. Each scrumptious chocolate square is filled with an amazing truffle filling. The surrounding chocolate square is a mix of slow-melting milk and dark chocolates.

I was smart enough to open the bag when no one else was home. They are just heavenly! I was really hoping to make a fancy recipe or something with this bag of Ghirardelli Milk and Truffle Squares. but before I knew it, my husband and teenaged sons had polished off the entire bag, leaving me with a single square just so I'd know they thought of me.

You can pick up this new Milk and Truffle flavor nationwide at Target and Walgreens. I'm heading to the store this weekend to pick up a few bags for my secret chocolate stash that I hide from the guys in this house. Thank you SheSpeaks for sharing these with me!Disclosure: I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

2/24/12

We are constantly using our frying pans. I was really excited to try the Ceramic Green Non-Stick FryPan from OrGREENic Kitchenware. We don't like to use very much butter or oil in our foods and OrGREENic cookware technology allows us to cook without oil, butter, or grease. Healthy food preparation is really important to us. This 10" pan is coated with ceramic that is bonded to the aluminum core, so your foods won't stick!

Even better, this pan is free of PTFE and PFOA, which means that OrGREENic has eliminated the unsafe nonstick coatings that the EPA has recently been complaining about. The handle stays cool and it's great for all kinds of cooking surfaces. You can even use this pan in the oven if you want! Before using it the first time, I needed to "season" it by spraying a tiny bit of oil spray on the pan, heating it, cooling it, then wiping it dry. Then, it was ready to use.

The first meal in our new pan was chicken tacos. Combine one can of shredded canned chicken, one can of cheddar cheese soup, one can of sliced olives, and a tablespoon of salsa, in a frying pan, to simmer ten minutes. Serve with warm flour tortillas. The food was perfect and the clean up was simple. I don't know why we've waited to get OrGREENic in our kitchen! I love this cookware!

I am so glad I got to review this brand of kitchenware. I really like it and I'll be working on replacing all my old pans with these over the next few months. Check out more OrGREENic reviews and give them a try for yourself! You're going to be as impressed with it as I am. By the way, I also love the green color!Disclosure: I received this product at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Slique Tea is the most delicious tea I have ever tasted. I'm so excited about all the wonderful benefits this scrumptious tea offers me. Slique Tea - Ocotea Oolong Cacao - is a slimming spice tea. It's made from all natural ingredients to help me reach my weight loss goals. It's rich with flavonoids and polyphenols, which help me to maintain a healthy body.

I love the box that holds the 25 individually wrapped tea bags. The box has a little tear out section at the bottom to make it easy for those who need to grab a tea bag packet and go. You can toss one in your purse or gym bag. The foil packaging helps keep it fresher too.

Best of all, I love the taste. It's not too often I chose hot tea to drink, but this tea is delicious and needs no sweeteners at all. It's a mellow spicy blend that tastes just right. If you are looking for a great tasting tea, this is it. You can pick some up from Theresa, an independent distributor of Young Living. You can find her on Facebook and Twitter too!Disclosure: I received this product at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Win Slique Tea on Planet Weidknecht!

One lucky reader will win an identical box of Slique Tea to try. To enter, just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Only the first entry is mandatory; you can increase your chances to win with the bonus entries. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. This giveaway ends at midnight on 3/4/12. Good luck!

This is one of those products where people say - "Now WHY didn't I think of that?" This is pure genius. Students absolutely love Silicone wristbands! All three of my kids have worn them and I seldom see any child without at least one. The MoH (Memory on Hand) wristband is a USB flash drive on a wristband!

They come in all kinds of fun and funky colors so there is something to appeal to everyone. There are many different sizes of memory to choose from. What a great idea for students in college, in high school or middle school, and even elementary school. It is a fashionable and convenient way to carry about digital files, documents, photos, and more.

The closure is secure and won't slip off. The band is flexible and can be worn with the logo on the inside or the outside of the band. The one I received has 2gb of memory but they offer all the way up to 8gb. As soon as my teenagers saw me with it, they wanted a closer look.

My 17 year old boys think it's a great idea and said they could definitely see kids at their high school using and wearing these. They and their friends lose flash drives all the time because they aren't connected to them. The MoH Bands stay connected until you take it off.

Personally I like it too. I'm not so sure this is my color choice as I'd prefer pink or blue, but I have a feeling my boys are going to want this MoH band as soon as they see I've completed my review. I love this idea and can easily see this product taking off like wildfire. Check out their Kickstarter program success too. You can find MoH Bands online and connect with them on Facebook and Twitter.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Another Wonderful Giveaway:
One lucky Planet Weidknecht reader will win an MoH Wristband! To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. You may enter until midnight est on 3/4/12. Only the first entry is mandatory; all others are bonus entries to increase your chances to win. Good luck!
Enter more of my fabulous giveaways HERE.

For forty years, Nature's American Co. has been making great products. Here is their newest product and I'm so excited to tell you about it. Nature's Hand Authentic Granola is 100% naturally delicious. There are no preservatives, no sugar, no sodium and no trans fats. What you will find is an amazingly scrumptious healthy granola at an affordable price.

There are six flavors to choose from - Cranberry Delight, French Vanilla Almond, Wild Blueberry, Raisin Hazelnut, Cinnamon Apple and Maple Pecan. I received the Cinnamon Apple and the Cranberry Delight. Each 13oz bag has about 12 servings; each serving of the two I received are only 120 calories each. I tried the Cranberry Delight first and was impressed with the big cranberry fruits in the bag. There also seemed to be more fruit in Nature's Hand granola than any others I've tried.

I love the taste. The cranberries are chewy and sweet with small clusters of granola that are perfect for breakfast or snacking. I tried it with rice milk and yogurt and it's so good. It's made of roasted oats and wheat, with nuts and seeds, sweetened with brown sugar and honey. The Cinnamon Apple is delicious too, with big chunks of dried apples. These oven-baked recipes come from European immigrants and use only the best premium ingredients. You can find them online and in stores. Connect with them on Facebook and Twitter too!Disclosure: I received these samples at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

Win Your Choice of Two Flavors!
Nature's Hand is giving away two bags of Authentic Granola, winner's choice of flavors, right here on my blog! To enter just fill out the Rafflecopter form below. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address, and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. The giveaway closes on 3/4/12 at midnight EST. Good luck!
Enter more of my fabulous giveaways HERE.

It seems every time I turn on the news, I hear something horrible about what's being done to the foods Americans eat. Pesticides and genetic changes and bacteria. UGH. Sometimes it almost makes me want to stop eating. Almost. It does make me more aware of what I am eating and makes me more careful about what I buy for myself and my family to eat. If you are what you eat, then I'm now sweet as candy!

OCHO Candy Bars are made from organic ingredients. They are certified orangic by CCOF and reading the ingredients on the packaging, everything in them is organic. Candy is one of the things everyone eats at some time or another. Convenience stores have entire aisles of candy bars, filled with preservatives, additives, and artificial flavors. You won't find any of those in OCHO Candy Bars!

I tried all four flavors of OCHO Candy Bars. No I didn't eat all four bars in one sitting. I took one bite of each and saved the rest for my teens. They are all amazing! They are so delicious! I was really tempted to eat more than one bite of each, but I wanted to see what the rest of my family thought about them.

My husband said, "Wow, that's great!" John said, "Oh, that's really good!" Ryan said, "Can I have another one?" It feels good to give my family foods that are good for them. There is a Chocolate Covered Coconut candy bar, a Chocolate Covered Mocha candy bar, a Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter candy bar, and a Chocolate Covered Caramel and Peanut candy bar.

If I was forced to pick a favorite one, it would be the Peanut Butter one, but they are all absolutely delicious. Johnny's favorite was the Coconut Bar. I highly recommend OCHO Candy Bars!!! You can purchase them online and they will soon be coming to a store near you. Connect with them on Facebook and Twitter too.Disclosure: I received these products at no charge in exchange for my honest review.

WIN SOME OCHO CANDY BARS!
One lucky reader will win 5 OCHO Candy Bars Variety Packs. You can enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Only the first entry is mandatory; all others are to increase your chances to win. You must be at least 18 years old, have a US address and follow Planet Weidknecht in at least one way. Giveaway ends at midnight est on 3/4/12. Good luck!
Enter more of my fabulous giveaways HERE.

About Me

Lisa is a Kansas blogger, focusing on travel and tourism, food and beverage, home and family, product reviews and giveaways. Lisa survived raising 3 children to adulthood and has earned 3 college degrees.